Transfer valve



Aug. 26, 1930. w. E. GOLDSBOROUGH 1,773,995

TRANSFER VALVE Filed Dec. 24, 1926 Patented Aug. 26, 1930 UNITEDHSTATES PATENT OFFICE" WINDER E. GOLDSBOROUGH, orv NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR 'ro DOHYEBTY smncn COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, n. YQA conroim'rron or DELAWARE TRANSFER VALVE Application flied December 24, 1.92 SerialNe. 156,828.

The present invention relates to in'ternalcombustion engines and more particularly to multiple expansion internal combustion enrgines.

One of the pronounced difficulties encountered by designers of multi-stage expansion combustion engines has been the high loss .of I

' power in the transfer passages from one cylinder to another. It isnot enerally realized 10 how large a part is'played ythe volume of thetransfer passage in augmenting the losses due to transferring the ,gases- While, in

steam engine designs it is customary, for

sufiicient reasons, to makethe transfer passage of large volume and, include in it a receiver, when handling products of combustion, for equally sufficient reasons, this practice isentirely inadmissible I. have found that in a-2-cylinder compound internal com-.

bustion engine, a decrease in capacity, or output, at full load of 1% is caused by each percent of the volume of the high pressure cylinder which is allottedto the transfer passage. v

It is one of the objects of the present invention to, provide a design of multi-stage expansion internal combustion engine ,in which'the featureof small transfer passage is combined with general features of design of so known value.

The novel features of the present invention are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. fTheinventionitself, together with further objects and advantages,

ing the transfer'valves fortheflow of the .will best be understood from the following fluid during the transfer of hot gases from one cylinderto the other. 1

In thedr'awing, 10 is, a high pressure cylinder having piston 12 therein. Alongside, the cylinder 10 is a low pressure cylinder 14 rontain-ing the piston16. Cylinders 10 a-nd 14: are set as close together as practicable so thatth e wall 18 between the twocylindersis mit. This is especially desirable along the plane connecting the axes of the two, cylinders. However, as willpresently appear, the essential feature is that the corners of the cylinders connected by the transfer passa e for the hot gases shall be cl se together. The

sired cycle, the ordinary Dieselcycle being a suitable one. However, theengine of Fig.

1 isdesigned to operate on a cycle according to which the an is given its maximum compression before entering the combustion space; As illustrated, air 18 drawn in from the atmosphere or T from a supercharger,

througha port 20 and passes through a valve 22 onthe upstroke of piston 16 and into-a space 24 in cylinder 14 below the piston 16.

()nth downstroke of. piston 16 the air is parasthin as practical considerations will pers tially compressed and expelled from space 24 through valve 26. The thereupon passes through port 28 andvalve '30 into-the space '32 below the piston .12. On the downstroke of piston 12, the air is expelled from space 32 through valve 34 and passes olf'through pipe 36. Preferably pipe 36 .is in free communicationlwitha receiver 38. Air frompipe 36 enters a valve chamber 4:0.and thence, at the'appropriate point in the cycle, passes into the space 42 above the used in the space 42 to urn fueLwhich may be injectedthrough pipe 44. .011 the down strokeofpiston 12 the gases or products of combustion are partially expanded. The necessary valves'arethen opened and the gases allowed toenter a transfer passage {16. Passage 46 lies substantially in the plane determinedbythe axes of cylinders 10and 14. It, will be s'een'thatthe cylinders 10- and 1 1 are of. an ordinary type which may bercast 'en bloc" and having the headset the cylinders in p)is ton12.. The air is cylinder'isquite satisfactory. By thear the same planes whereby be manufactured and the pistons connected to a crank in the ordinary manner. As above mentioned, however, the wall 18 between the cylinders 10 and 14 is of minimum thickness along the line connecting the centers of the cylinders.

the cylinders may corner of one cylinder to the adjacent upper corner. of the other. p

A major feature of the presentj invention residesin the transfer passage 46. I have found that the transfer passage shouldhave a volume not in excess of 10% of the volume of the high pressure cylinder in order-that the designs involving multi-stage expansion shall maintain some advantage'as compared with a simpleexpansion multi -cylinder en- Egine;

A compound engine having atransfer passagevolume of 5% of the high pressure *"rangement'above described I am able to reduce' the volumeof the "somedesigns to aslow at 1% of the expansion chamber of the high pressure cylinder. The

transfer passage with transfer passage'of theengine illustrated in the'drawing' is approximately 2% of the vol- "ume of the combustion or expansion chamber of the high pressure cylinder when thepislton is at the crankend dead center.

It is evident that in. the

engine illustrated in Fig. 1 the passage 28,

connectingv com- "press-ing chambers'24'and 32 may befmade; ofsmall dimensions also.

However, the effects of large volume inpassage 28 are not .as serious as in the case of passage 46. ;Morebe Inot more than 20% of the volume of the expansion '28 of similar small over, the cylinders .of the enginemay easily be placed so that the transfer passage 46for "the hot gases may be made of the small size required by the present invention, but so that itis impossible to, also make the air passage j volume. Therefore, while it' is preferred'to make passage 28 of small volume, the invention is not limited to this. 'It is preferred,,however, that the sum of the volumesof passages 28 and 46 shall chamberof'the high pressure cylinder; 10.

1 From passage 46, the productsof combustion pass into the space 48above piston 16 in cylinder 14 where they areexpanded' furtherin the usual 1 through valve 50.

mannerand then exhausted 'The valve or valves controllingthe'direct connection between thea cylinders and the transfer the corner or' corners .of the cylinder or cyl- For instance,

passage 46 is or, areplaced across inder's' at the ends 10f the transfer passage. a valve 5 2 is illustrated atthe point of connection between the space' 42fand p sa "valve .52 in asspi dl aa l i e i h h ri ontal a l e a gle of! about *45? and lying substantially in the plane conile etia ithe As illustrated the transfer passage passes almost directly from the'upper ;tl16';paSS2tg6146.-, If onevalve only isused, 7

tively cool air passing. into the engine cools; not only air valve58 12; is illustrated in t closed. When the hotgases areto be trans;;.:

closed and valves: the flow of gases on the cylinders,

lustrated, moreover, the valve 54 is placed at the point where the passage 46 enters the space 48, the spindle 55 of valve 54 also inclines approximately 45 to the horizontal but inclines to one side so as to avoid the spindle 53.

' So far as only the transfer products of combustion from space 42 to space 48 is concerned, one valveonly is needed to control t is preferred thatit belo cated'aslillustrated at 52. It is often times advantageous, how'- ever,- to combine the air intake passage with the transfer passage. This results in only one opening into the high pressure cylinder for both the. intake of air and-the transfer or fiexhaust of the products of combustion.

Moreover, inthe arrangement illustrated,;the air intake passage has-been so associated with the transfer passage that the ingoing. air

. cools the transfer valves; As illustrated,.the

, intake chamber 40 isconnected with the transfer-[passage 46 by ,air. port 56 and an air valve 58. is provided controllingv the passage from the chamber 40 to: the

port- 56; Stem 57 of the valve 58 maybe convenientlyarranged vertical and in the plane of the passage 46. When air is being'drawn into. space 42, valves 58 and 52 are opened and the relabut also, transfervalves v 52 and 54., .The position of thevalves when air is, passing into cylinder .10 above piston Fig.2, valve 54 being,

ferred from space .42 to space 4'8-,; valye 58is 52 and 54 are opened and is accomplished as illustrated clearly in Fig. 3. a It will be clearthat. the: triple .va'lve ara21 5 rangement ust describedwhile conveniently adapted to multi-stage.expansiongengines,

may also be used onsin gle cylinder engines.

V in the art to build internal combustion engines to utilize heavy oil fuel andto'provide suitable means .for'in-uizo jecti-ngit intothe combustionsp'ac'e of anenmeans is illustrated'her eoreover, means and methodsfor govinterna-I combustion engines and gine, no injection erning mechanism for operating the valves "of'such 21.125

engines being Well-kn'owm; no governing mechanlsm or valve operatingm'echanism is illustrated herein. I

ItwilLbeunderstood that while l havexil- ,lli ra ed, zherein'. only. agtwoscylinden engine, 2130 the present invention is not so limited and that, wherever the following claims refer to a high pressure cylinder, the phrase isintended to include any expansion cylinder from which the products of combustion pass through a transfer passage to another cylindler in which the products are expanded furt er.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A compound internal combustion engine having high and low pressure piston cylinders arranged side by side with a thin wall separating them, a transfer passage in said wall leading from the upper end of one cylinder into the upper end of the other cylinder, a valve in each cylinder for closing the ends of said passage and a valve controlled passage opening into said transferpassage intermediate said valves.

2. An engine comprising a high pressure cylinder and a low pressure cylinder having a single opening for the intake to and the discharge of gases from the high'pressure cylinder, a passage leading from said opening to said low pressure cylinder, valves spaced apart and controlling the flow of fluid in said passage, an inlet passage connecting with said passage at a point intermediate said valves, and an inlet valve controlling the inlet passage.

3. A multi-stage expansion engine having larger and smaller cylinders set side by side with their heads substantially in the same plane, and separated by a thin wall, a transfer passage through said wall from one cylinder to the other substantially at the point of minimum thickness of said wall and connecting adjacent corners of the cylinders, and a pair of valves controlling said passage,said valves having their stems set at an angle to V the axes of said cylinders and a third valve opening into said passage intermediate said pair of valves.

4:. In a compound internal combustion engine, a transfer passage connecting the high and low pressure cylinders of the engine, means to close each end of said passage, the engine having an admission port connected to said passage and a Valve for closing said admission'port.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature,

WINDER E. GOLDSBOROUGH. 

